Speaking German with Grimms’ Fairy-Tales

20.07.2016

The F+U Academy of Languages Heidelberg offers its students the weekly opportunity to learn the German language in a funny and entertaining way. The course, which takes place every Tuesday, is called “Learn how to speak German with Grimms’ Fairy Tales” and is a part of F+U Academy of Languages’ cultural activities programme.

Every Tuesday Ms. Ute Schäfer, who studied German and Romance philology, presents one fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm. The narration of the tale is enriched by pictures and other elements, so that the students can enlarge their vocabulary.

As a foreign-language teacher and member of the European Fairy Tale Society, Ute Schäfer quickly became aware that practicing a language orally is a great need of all those learning a foreign language - and that Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood or the Frog Prince are particularly suited to promoting foreign language learning.

Through dialogic narrative, playful activities and repetition of verses from the fairy tales, Ute Schäfer encourages students to speak and to deal with both the German language and the content of the fairy tales. Thus, the course also serves to educate students about German literature and culture. As Ute Schäfer says, “It is an immersion into the magical world of a fairy tale, and a small, but authentic, insight into our culture.”

Only German is spoken during the course, which takes place once a week for about one and a half hours, as its main objective is to encourage and train speaking the German language. The group is open to all students and is also a great opportunity to meet friends, exchange ideas and make new acquaintances.

Participation is free, however, the number of participants is limited to 8, as a larger number of attendants would impede the opportunity to interact and speak. Those wishing to join the course are asked to register until 3 p.m. on the day before (Monday) at the front-desk.